Thatcher coffin taken to Parliament before funeral

Associated PressTuesday, April 16, 2013

Credit: The Associated Press

City of London police officers stand outside St Paul's Cathedral in London, Tuesday, April 16, 2013. British police are reviewing security plans for Sunday's London Marathon, the next major international marathon, because of the bombs that killed three people at the race in Boston.

Credit: The Associated Press

A man walks through security barriers put up outside St Paul's Cathedral in London, Tuesday, April 16, 2013. British police are reviewing security plans for Sunday's London Marathon, the next major international marathon, because of the bombs that killed three people at the race in Boston.

Credit: The Associated Press

A woman walks through security barriers put up outside St Paul's Cathedral in London, Tuesday, April 16, 2013. British police are reviewing security plans for Sunday's London Marathon, the next major international marathon, because of the bombs that killed three people at the race in Boston.

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LONDON — The body of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is being taken to the Houses of Parliament, where it will rest overnight before her funeral.

About 100 colleagues and senior politicians will attend a private service in Parliament's chapel of St. Mary Undercroft later Tuesday.

The Iron Lady, who transformed Britain during her 11-year tenure, died April 8, aged 87.

The divisive leader is being given a ceremonial funeral with full military honors — to the chagrin of some Britons.

On Wednesday morning, her coffin, draped in a red, white and blue Union flag, will travel by hearse to the church of St. Clement Danes before being borne on a horse-drawn gun carriage to St. Paul's Cathedral.

More than 4,000 police officers will be on duty amid a major security operation.